DHL Express to expand in Hong Kong on e-commerce demand

DHL Express has announced a €335m expansion plan for its Central Asia Hub (CAH), in partnership with the Airport Authority Hong Kong.

The expanded CAH will be equipped with an enhanced material handling system that will improve productivity and increase the hub’s throughput capacity – from the current 75,000 pieces of shipments per hour to 125,000 pieces per hour.

When operating at its full capacity, the annual throughput of the expanded CAH is expected to go up by 50% to just over 1m tonnes each year, while warehouse space will increase by 50% to 47,000 sq m.

The facility expansion is expected to be competed in the first quarter of 2022.

"In time to capture strong demand in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region and completion of the Three Runway System for the Hong Kong International Airport in 2024," DHL said.

The express firm added that DHL said the expansion is timely as the CAH has recorded an average 12% year-on-year growth in its shipping volume in the past decade.

"Based in a strategically important location to DHL, the expanded CAH in Hong Kong will not only bolster our operational capacity in Asia Pacific, but also facilitate the rapidly-growing international trade demands in the region and around the world.”

As one of three global hubs for DHL, the expanded CAH will continue to act as the core hub of the DHL Express global and Asia Pacific regional network, handling more than 40% of its total Asia Pacific shipment volumes.

Ken Lee, chief executive of DHL Express Asia Pacific, said: “Connecting with more than 70 DHL Express gateways in the region, the Central Asia Hub plays a significant role in strengthening our existing network of hubs in Asia Pacific, including Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok.

"Equipped with fully automated X-ray inspection machines, it will increase the speed of our shipment inspection by three times – enabling us to expedite the processing speed of shipments that come through the CAH.”

DHL said the facility is within a four-hour flight time to major cities in Asia Pacific and in the PPRD region, and is served by over 800 commercial daily flights.